Pat_S

Pat_S's BlogWire

Officer saves elderly woman moments before car sinks Jenkins jumped into the chest-high water of the Thames River, battling 3-foot waves and winds gusting 40 mph to rescue 85-year-old Marie Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald pulled into the parking lot of Eastern Point Beach, a picturesque spot overlooking the Long Island Sound, but lost control of her Honda Civic. Her car burst through the concrete barrier, barreled over the boulders acting as a buffer and plunged into the water. A true hero. ****************************************************

I wonder how this woman was selected for the test. She’s described as a female specialist at the Central Scientific Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering. Video: Young Russian woman tests newest anti-mine security suit Wearing a special protective suit the specialist strolls through the shooting range at Klimovsk (30 miles south of Moscow), while landmines explode near her and flames burst out of the ground. Regardless of the land mine explosions, the video’s heroine remains safe and takes her mask off in front of the camera at the end. Officials in the Russian government seem to be quite impressed. Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation stated on his Facebook page that, “the Terminator is a...

She says she wants a broad set of experiences. Yes she did. And we all know that one woman’s opinion is the same as another’s. Her comments were made during the Monday night MSNBC Townhall. Hillary Clinton says women would make up half of Cabinet “Well, I am going to have a Cabinet that looks like America, and 50 percent of America is women,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Whether it’s in a vice president or members of a Cabinet or in the White House staff, I want as broad a set of experiences that I can possibly draw together, because I’m someone who likes to listen to people who come at problems from different perspectives,” she said. If she really wants...

No need to yell “heads up” in Augsburg, Germany. After two near misses and one fatality, the city installed traffic lights in the ground for “smombies”—smartphone zombies. City installs traffic lights in the floor for people constantly glued to their phones They have been in operation since last week, and flash red when a tram is approaching, or when the normal traffic light turns red – because craning your neck is [sic] check for a brief moment is a very obvious inconvenience. Related: Heads-up technology puts data on car windshields at CES **************************************************** //

A British city council sent a letter to parents of children entering the school system asking them to support the gender their children “most identify with”. It’s a multiple choice. Another city council in Brighton sent home a gender survey with 23 options. But the children will have only two options for uniforms, a full tweed blazer, tie and trousers or a skirt, bolero jaket and blouse. Parents asked to help their 4-year-olds choose their gender Brighton & Hove City Council’s lead member for equalities, Councillor Emma Daniel defended the move, saying that the additional text about gender identity was “in response to calls from families, young people and schools to show an inclusive approach to gender”. Perhaps 23 options...

This is the 13th sophisticated secret tunnel found going between California and Mexico since 2006. This tunnel ran from a Tijuana house to the lot of a wooden pallet business in San Diego. It is not known how long it’s been used as a drug smuggling route. Border Patrol agents noticed heavy traffic at the pallet lot and were suspicious. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations investigator is “fairly confident” the first drug shipment was sent recently but admits some might have gotten through undetected. Half-mile tunnel found under US-Mexico border; 1 ton cocaine, 7 tons marijuana seized Investigators began to monitor the lot daily last fall after Border Patrol agents assigned to the area saw heavy...

Last year the former police chief who led the investigation into the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann was ordered to pay damages to Kate and Gerry McCann, the child’s parents, for making allegations that their missing child was in fact murdered by her parents. That judgment has now been reversed by an appeals court. In his book, The Truth of the Lie, and based on no evidence, Goncalo Amaral accused Gerry and Kate McCann of killing their daughter and stuffing her in a freezer. The lower court issued an injunction against further sales of the book. The appeals court says he has a right to his opinion. Now the former police chief who was in charge of the inept investigation...

And happy it should be according to the twitter hashtag campaign #ShoutYourStatus. There’s too much STI and STD stigmatizing according to these devotees. As one person put it, many people are living happily with genital herpes and the world should embrace them. This is the amazing reason women are telling the world they have STIs. “So much of STI Awareness Month has focused on alarming statistics about the prevalence of STIs and fear-mongering discussion of symptoms,” Dawson told Revelist. “Meanwhile, the millions of us who live with STIs aren’t a part of that conversation.” So she and her proudly-positive friends inserted themselves into that conversation, using #ShoutYourStatus. They encourage others with STIs to proudly declare their status, in whatever way...

The Army plans to reduce forces to 980,000 down 132,000 from 2011 levels.According to a Government Accountability Office report the Army did not consider mission risk when deciding to cut support forces disproportionately to combat forces. The Army assumed support—a.k.a. enabler units such as transportation units and military police—could deploy more frequently and for longer duration than the Department of Defense policies allow. The GAO report says the planning for force reduction process assessed the risk to the “health” of the Army’s force but not to mission risk. Comprehensive Risk Assessment Needed for Planned Changes to the Army’s Force Structure According to Army guidance, the Army’s planning process should assess mission risk for both combat and enabler units. The Army...

Their shoes may be able to go the distance but their faith in government promises has reached its limit. New Balance had been vocal in opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership then they went silent about a year ago. Company officials say they were promised serious consideration for a DOD contract for athletic shoes for military recruits if they backed off their criticism so they did. They never heard a word since then from the Pentagon about a contract. New Balance accuses Obama administration of reneging on TPP-related deal “We swallowed the poison pill that is TPP so we could have a chance to bid on these contracts,” said Matt LeBretton, New Balance’s vice president of public affairs. “We were assured...

The European Union governing block thinks there is too much “Euroscepticism”, i.e., EU citizens have a lack of understanding or—gasp!— oppose the EU. So, next week the European Parliament will consider a plan entitled Leaning EU in Schools to cultivate a positive view by teaching children good things about the EU. It is expected to be approved. EU trying to introduce mandatory classes about the bloc into school curriculum The “Learning EU in Schools” report, seen by the Telegraph, calls on member states to “encourage and facilitate high-quality training on EU topics for teachers, other educational staff, youth leaders and trainers” and the creation of a ʻEuro Teacherʼ label award. That “Euro Teacher award” rings familiar bells about Hero of...

Central to Bernie Sanders’ dogma is breaking up financial institutions that are “too big to fail”. As president he’ll have the Treasury Department make up a list of Too Big To Fail commercial banks and insurance companies then within one year he promises his administration will— Break these institutions up so that they no longer pose a grave threat to the economy as authorized under Section 121 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Actually under the Dodd-Frank Act federal regulators are already keeping a list of Systemically Important Financial Institutions. Section 121 does allow the Federal Reserve to break up any large financial institution that is deemed a grave threat to the financial stability of the United States. Doing so requires the...

Millions of documents from a Panamanian law firm were leaked showing how the company helps clients launder money and dodge taxes. In addition to prominent businessmen, celebraties and sports figures, the client list includes current and former heads of state. Vladimir Putin cronies are linked to laundering over $2 billion. What to Know About the ‘Panama Papers’ Leak Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, former Prime Minister of Iraq Ayad Allawi and Saudi Arabian monarch King Salman named in the list. The family members and associates of several other world leaders — Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, President of South Africa Jacob Zuma, Syrian President Bashar Assad and Chinese President Xi Jinping, to name a few — have also been implicated. Iceland’s...

The internet and social media have been touted as democratizing forces. A recent study suggests that knowing there is government and private cyber surveillance results in self-censorship of minority opinions and creating a dominant voice online. Under Surveillance: Examining Facebook’s Spiral of Silence Effects in the Wake of NSA Internet Monitoring Since Edward Snowden exposed the National Security Agency’s use of controversial online surveillance programs in 2013, there has been widespread speculation about the potentially deleterious effects of online government monitoring. This study explores how perceptions and justification of surveillance practices may create a chilling effect on democratic discourse by stifling the expression of minority political views. Using a spiral of silence theoretical framework, knowing one is subject to surveillance...

Air France will be resuming flights to Tehran later this month after an eight year ban. The airline ordered female flight attendants to wear headscarves while in Tehran but the women say they would rather refuse to be part of those flights. Iranian women have been required to wear headscarves since 1979. Air France stewardesses mutiny over order to wear headscarves Female members of flight crews have been ordered to cover their hair once they disembark in Tehran and unions are demanding that the flights be made voluntary for women. French women see Islamic headscarves and veils as an affront to their dignity. Headscarves are banned in French state schools and offices, and it is illegal to wear the full-face...